Moment #1: Men’s Lacrosse Defeats #1 Le Moyne in OT for NE-10 Title

Highlights of McAdam's Game-Winner and Celebration / Coach Morgan Remembers the Game / Watch the Northeast-10 Championship

This summer, merrimackathletics.com is counting down the top 10 moments of Merrimack College teams and student-athletes in 2009-10, one of the greatest years ever for Warrior athletics. Check back each Tuesday and Friday as we reveal this year's top-ten Merrimack Moments.

SYRACUSE, NY – It was a championship few believed they could capture, given the recent success in Syracuse for the Merrimack men’s lacrosse team. Despite blowing an 11-6 fourth quarter lead, the Warriors never quit, and Brad McAdam (Neshanic Station, NJ) scored with 0.8 seconds left in the first OT to give Merrimack the 2010 Northeast-10 Championship with a 12-11 victory over #1 Le Moyne.

For the second straight season, it was Merrimack and Le Moyne in the NE-10 Finals, but unlike in 2009, the Warriors didn’t have as much to play for. Because of regular season losses to St. Leo’s, Le Moyne and New York Tech, win or lose, the season was over for Merrimack.

Le Moyne, meanwhile, was ranked #1 in the country and was headed back to the NCAA Final Four and was eyeing its ninth conference tournament title in ten years.

Furthermore, Merrimack had not defeated the Dolphins in Syracuse in the last eight meetings, dating back to 2000, when the Warriors won their first conference championship.

Add to that Le Moyne’s home record was 41-1 in its last 42 contests, and that the Dolphins routed Merrimack 14-4 earlier in the season in Syracuse.

Playing in a snow flurry in mid-May, the teams were tied at four at the half before the Warriors netted seven of the next ten goals to take an 11-6 lead with 4:51 to play.

But the Dolphins ran off five straight goals, coming back from the dead, to tie the score at 11 with 37 seconds left in regulation behind a game-tying goal from Keith Vetter.

As overtime began, the Warriors and Nick Maggio (Winchester, MA) won the faceoff as Merrimack regained its composure and confidence after relinquishing such a big lead late in the game’s waning moments.

After a McAdam shot which was stopped by Matt Krupka, the Dolphins gained possession after a turnover, but All-American Cory Spinale (Wakefield, MA) stopped Mike Byrnes with 32-seconds left.

Merrimack regained the ball, quickly moving up the field and McAdam beat Krupka high with 0.8 seconds left in the first overtime to give the Warriors their second career Northeast-10 title.

“It’s hard to describe how proud I am of these guys,” said head coach Mike Morgan on the sidelines following the win. “I could tell our guys had a different sense of purpose coming into this game. Even when Le Moyne made their run, we hung tough and did what we needed to do. I couldn’t be happier for our team.”

Spinale, who was named an All-American and the Northeast-10 Goalkeeper of the Year for the second time in three seasons, made 12 saves, three in the fourth quarter to conclude his outstanding career in style.

Bryan MacPhie (Scarborough, ME) (three goals, two assists), Jordan Tiger (Ridgefield, CT) (two goals), Greg Melaugh (Billerica, MA) (two goals, assist) and Michael Balbuena (Falmouth, MA) (goal, assist) led the way offensively for Merrimack, while Shane Mahar (Slingerlands, NY) had a team-high six ground balls and one caused turnover.

McAdam’s game-winner was his second of the game. The sophomore had a team-best nine shots and added four ground balls in the victory, while being named the tournament’s MVP.

“Against Le Moyne, for 54 minutes we played real strong, limiting mistakes and playing fast with a lot of confidence,” said Morgan. “We made some mental errors down the stretch and give up goals. That is something that can happen against a top ranked team like Le Moyne. There is still a lot of room for this team to grow and improve going into next year.”

Despite winning the conference title, the win was bittersweet for Merrimack, who saw its season come to an end and its National Championship hopes dashed despite picking up the biggest win in 2009-10 at Merrimack and possibly in the history of the men’s lacrosse program.

“We proved Merrimack is going to be an elite program for a long time,” said Morgan. “It was tough not to accomplish our ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, but we believe the three losses will make us stronger moving forward and give the team an idea of just how hard we need to continue to work to win.”

Merrimack Moments 2009-10

#10 – Sabadoz ties school record for goals in 2-0 win over Lowell

#9 – Field Hockey clinches home field with win over Adelphi in snow on Senior Day

#8 – Mency’s 34 leads men’s basketball to late win over Saint Anselm

#7 – Da Costa scores 5 in second career game

#6 – Women’s Soccer advances on penalty kicks in NCAAs against Lowell

#5 – Football defeats Bentley 14-12 on defensive stand

#4 – Laracy, O’Rourke pitch baseball into playoffs with 3-2 win over Southern NH

#3 – Cucci’s OT goal gives hockey first playoff win since 1998

#2 – Women’s Basketball upsets #1 Franklin Pierce

#1 – Men’s Lacrosse defeats #1 Le Moyne in OT for Northeast-10 Championship